1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an analog electronic drum set, and parts for drum stick, analog electronic drum set, and more particularly to an analog electronic drum set that electronically processes various beating sounds generated by elements of a drum set to reproduce the sounds, without any digital conversion, and its elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic musical instruments, such as an electronic organ developed in 1800s, have been well known, and these electronic musical instruments have been developed in various aspects since then. Elements about drum sets also have developed with the tendency. Earlier, a plan of “drum synthesizer” was brought forward. The drum synthesizer is a means that reproduces drumbeats by an electronic acoustics synthesizer, according to and based on beating sounds from a pad as a receiver beaten by a performer.
Afterwards, because digital electronic acoustics synthesizers are presented, other plans, such as “virtual drum” and “MIDI drum”, that reproduce drumbeats by the digital electronic acoustics synthesizers, based on recorded drumbeats have been brought forward, as well-known electronic drums.
FIG. 28 illustrates an essential structure of the electronic drum as described above. As shown in FIG. 28, when a performer beats a pad (10) made of rubber or resin, beats are converted into electronic signals to output. The output electronic signals are transmitted in a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) converter (12).
The conventional MIDI, which is connected to an electronic instrument and a computer for producing musical data, and it is not a information on the sound itself, but an information like height, volume, length, tone and effect, which can changed into “a digital data” to represent music.
By the MIDI converter (12), the electronic signals corresponding to the beating on the pad (10) can be converted into MIDI signals. The MIDI signals are transmitted into a sonic source (16) by an optical coupler (14). According to the MIDI signals, the sonic source (16), which has various sounds previously recorded therein, selects and outputs sounds corresponding to the MIDI signals. The sonic source (16) not only records sounds of various musical instruments, but also various sound effects such as sounds of engines. Namely, in this electronic musical instrument, after the sound signals are digitally converted, the reproduced tones are completely independent of the tones of beating on the pad.
The sound signals output from the MIDI converter (12) are processed a series of modulations by an effecter (18), and transmitted into a reproducer (20). By using a low sound reproducer, such as a headphone, the electronic musical instrument may not output a loud sound, thus avoiding disturbance to others.
After beatings on the pad (10) are digitized, namely converted into digital data, the electronic drum set can reproduce various sounds.
The electronic rum set often uses a pressure sensor as a piezoelectricity component. When the pad is beaten, voltages generated by deformations of the pressure sensor are converted into digital signals by the MIDI converter (12) to reproduce desired sounds.
Namely, instantaneous deformations and deformation amounts of the pressure sensor when beaten are selected. For excluding the beating sounds from the reproduced sounds, the beating sounds should be eliminated. In this way, factors of beating sounds including pitch, attenuation, and tone will not be reflected at all. Therefore, by using the electronic drum set, beating actions can by an electronic manner reproduce not only sounds of drumbeats, but also sounds of other musical instruments such as pianos, clavicembalos and brasses, and even other sounds in nature.
Technologies about MIDI converters to convert signals by using deformations of a pressure strike sensor as a piezoelectricity component, as described above, and technologies of drum synthesizer described hereinafter have been disclosed in JP publication No 12177, 1978, JP publication No. 29516, 1986, JP publication No. 149254, 1995, JP publication No. 311577, 1996, JP publication No. 44357, 1997, and JP patent No. 2601905.
A brief explanation about a principle of the drum synthesizer without a MIDI will now be described. At first, beating actions generate electronic signals to turn a switch on. A device called VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillater) receives the electronic signals and then reproduces sounds, based on a wave selected from types including impulse wave, sine wave, and tooth wave.
The reproduce sounds are transmitted into a device called VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter) to modulate the sounds for improving brightness and rising tone. Afterwards, the sounds are transmitted into a device called VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) for adding tremolos and volume adjustment. Finally, the sounds are transmitted into an EG (Envelope Generator) to set up a start time, a delay time, a lasting time, and a releasing time, namely, to set up the time of the sound beginning, the time from the maximum sound to the lasting sound, the extending time, and the aftersound retaining time etc. Through further functional processes, such as changing additional diapasons of the sounds, the sound can be output from output ends.
For simplicity of description hereinafter, a conventional drum set is illustrated in FIG. 29. The drum group includes a snare drum indicated by the numeral 1, a first tom-tom indicated by the numeral 2, a second tom-tom indicated by the numeral 3, an auxiliary tom-tom indicated by the numeral 5, a bass drum indicated by the numeral 6, and a pedal for the bass drum indicated by the numeral 7. The cymbal group includes a hi-hat cymbal indicated by the numeral 8, a first cymbal indicated by the numeral 9, a second cymbal indicated by the numeral 10, and a foot pedal for operating the hi-hat cymbal indicated by the numeral 11.
In addition, it should be understood that the “conventional drum set” mentioned in context will not be limited in the drum set shown in FIG. 29.
The “conventional drum set” may include only the drum group, or only the cymbal group, and/or other elements excluding the drum group and the cymbal group. Namely, the conventional drum set may include at least one of the drum group and the cymbal group.
Moreover, the “conventional drum set” mentioned in context does not need amplifiers or speakers for electronic processing, and is only beaten to produce sounds in itself for performance. Therefore, in some wide locations, those amplifiers and speakers to amplify sound are only used for outputting the drumbeats directly generated in the drum set. Therefore, the “conventional drum set” means a device that can directly produce drumbeats without any electronic processing.
In addition, a drum group can include some elements of the drum group shown in FIG. 29, ore any drum elements not shown in FIG. 29.
Similarly, a cymbal group can also include some elements of the cymbal group shown in FIG. 29, or other cymbal elements not shown in FIG. 29.
When the electronic drum set is used, because the reproduced sound is independent to the sounds of beating the pad, the beating can reproduce sounds like conventional drumbeats, cries of animals and engine sounds, etc.
When the head phone is used, there is only the sound of beating the pad made of rubber and resin in the environment, so that an exerciser can perform with the drum set without disturbing others.
Because the pad to convert beats into electronic signals is made of resilient rubber and the like, it is difficult to respond to some slight beats. On the other hand, if the pad is made of some hard materials for detecting these slight beats, the performer may be injured through the continual impacts. Therefore, only beats with a certain strength on the known pad can generate reproduced electronic signals.
For the conventional drum set, a skilled performer can produce subtle distinctions in drumbeats by using various techniques, such as tightly or loosely gripping the sticks, or changing times of the sticks in contact with the beaten parts.
However, the known electronic drum set can not reflect the subtle distinctions at all, even if the performer uses these techniques.
Furthermore, there is a time difference from beating pad to generate librations, converting the librations into the MIDI signals, transmitting the MIDI signals into the sonic source through the optical coupler, and reproducing the sounds recorded in the sonic source according to the digital signals. Namely, there is a time difference between the beat action by the performer and the sounds reproduced from the reproducer, so the MIDI drum set does not satisfy those skilled performers.
In addition, although without MIDI, the drum synthesizer also does not use drumbeats generated at first to reproduce sounds. Namely, the drumbeats are only used for turning on the switch. Thus, the drum synthesizer also has the problem that can not represent the subtle distinctions in various techniques used by the skilled performer, and only can output electronic sounds produced and recorded previously.
In view of these problems as described above, the invention provides an analog electronic drum set and elements for the analog electronic drum set which can reproduce drumbeats to represent subtle distinctions in beating techniques of a performer, and can eliminate the time difference between the beat action and the reproduced sound.